“She was one of my favorites,” Sise said as he sat outside the facility.

The Los Alamitos racing family is heartbroken over the images from the Lilac Fire and how it’s seriously affecting San Luis Rey Downs and surrounding areas. So many courageous people there doing everything possible to save as many Equine lives possible. Our thoughts are with you

The deaths at the training grounds prompted the cancellation of thoroughbred races at Los Alamitos Race Course and an outpouring of sympathy. Del Mar racetrack became a hub for efforts to get aid to those who needed it and to house hundreds of racehorses. And in Los Angeles, the impact of the Creek fire rippled through foothill communities.

That’s where tragedy struck L.A.’s equestrian community.

At least 29 horses, many of whom were reportedly trapped in locked stalls, died in the Creek fire that affected the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Sylmar, according to Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control.

Officers initially rescued two horses and a puppy, then went back to retrieve four more horses from the barn before the flames blocked the entrance.

After firefighters beat back some of the flames at the barn, animal control officers were able to enter again, but padlocks on horse stalls made it difficult for officers to free the horses. Officers were forced to break the locks on 10 stalls before they could get some horses to safety. Flames and a collapsed roof again prevented officers from accessing the barn after that, the county statement said.

After the rescued horses were returned to their owners and taken to an emergency shelter at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, animal control officers went back to the ranch to get more horses out of the arena area, but “many horses locked in their stalls at the barn did not survive the fire,” the county’s statement said.

The county treated three of the horses taken to Pierce College for injuries. One of the horses is still being treated, while another was released.

“Sadly, despite all efforts one (horse) was euthanized due to the extent of its injuries,” the statement said.

County officials warned against using padlocks on horse stalls, and to better prepare for evacuations.

“This event serves as a tragic reminder for those who keep horses to develop actionable evacuation plans to reduce loss and injury,” the county’s statement said. “Horse stalls should never be padlocked or otherwise made inaccessible.”

Department officials also urged early evacuation and microchipping of horses for identification purposes, and planning out in advance the locations where horses can be taken in an evacuation.

City officials also conducted evacuations at the ranch, transporting two injured horses to the West Valley Animal Shelter, according to Los Angeles City Animal Control Officer Hugh Briefman.

The wildfires this week also took a different type of toll on the equestrian community.

The horses stabled at Gibson Ranch in Sunland were evacuated safely Tuesday as the Creek fire raged. But blackened stalls at the facility run by stuntman Dale Gibson were most of what remained there Friday.

Horse trailers at Rancho Padilla were burned in what has been named the “Creek” fire. Sylmar, CA 12/6/2017 (Photo by John McCoy, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

A few horses kicked about in the sandy arenas near the front of the ranch that was spared from the flames, as Gibson and others from the community busied themselves with the process of clearing away the damage and rebuilding.

Most of the ranch suffered damages when the Creek fire, whipped by the erratic winds, leaped unexpectedly from the nearby hills and crossed the 210 Freeway into the ranch.

“It happened so quickly that we were taken by surprise,” said Kari Digerose, 42, an employee at the ranch.

This turn of events carried some irony, since the ranch has long been considered in the Sunland-Tujunga community as a go-to sanctuary for horses during fires.

“This has always been the safe haven, base camp,” according to Digerose, who has lived and worked at the ranch for about 18 years and assists Gibson with horse stunts on film sets.

Digerose and other staff were in the surrounding area Tuesday morning helping to evacuate horses to their stables, which normally houses about 85 horses but allowed room for another 50 that day.

By 2:30 p.m. “our place was up in flames,” she said.

Efforts are underway to restore the ranch. Gibson said that he is hoping his tenants will be able to return in a few months, after repairs are made.

The temporary loss of the stables will be felt. The ranch, along with its operator, has long meant more to the local equestrian community than as just another stable, according to Digerose.

The ranch’s owner, Gibson, has been “such a symbol for this (equestrian) community,” reflected through his efforts to get a crossing light installed for the benefit of equestrians, and the charity horse rides he organizes, she said.

Digerose says she is still processing what happened this week, but knows they will keep going.

“We’re all just fortunate the horses made it out alive,” she said. “It was scary. But this is our way of life.”

Elizabeth Chou has reported on Los Angeles City Hall government and politics since 2013, first with City News Service, and now the Los Angeles Daily News since the end of 2016. She grew up in the Los Angeles area, and formerly a San Gabriel Valley girl. She now resides in the "other Valley" and is enjoying exploring her new San Fernando environs. She previously worked at Eastern Group Publications, covering Montebello, Monterey Park, City of Commerce, and Vernon.

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